1 State control of mass media and propaganda

• Lenin viewed press and the media as central to advancing the revolution and retaining power
• New gov established control of the press and media by: p1

  • Nov 1917, Decree on the Press gave government the emergency powers to close any newspaper that supported counter-revolution
  • creating a state monopoly of adverting in November 1917 - only the government could publish adverts
  • nationalising the Petrograd Telegraph agency in November 1917 which gave the new government control of electronic means of communication
• New gov established control of the press and media by: p2

  • establishing a Revolutionary Tribunal of the Press in January 1918, with the power to censor the press; editors who committed 'crimes against the people' could be punished by the Cheka (fines, prison, exile)
  • establishing the All-Russia Telegraph Agency (ROSTA) which was solely responsible for distributing news
• by 1921, the Communists had closed 2000 newspapers and 575 printing presses
• Control of the press was added by the economic controls produced under War Communism as they allowed the government to control all printing presses and stocks of paper
• As a result of control of the media, Pravda, the Communist Party newspaper, gained a much higher circulation and by the early 1920's it was one of the best selling publications in the Soviet Union
• Propaganda was as important to Lenin as censorship
• Initially, the communist regime was quite pluralistic. Before 1928, there was a relatively high degree of debate about policies. Pluraism was reflected in the propaganda in the first years of the revolution. Significantly, Lenin did not approve of all the images, or approaches used by the government
• Lenin didn't approve of the 'Cult of Lenin'. Pictures of Lenin were a form of propaganda used to promote the government from the beginning of 1918. January 1918 saw the first publication of a photo of Lenin and this focus increased in August.
• Following an assassination attempt, Lenin was described in essentially religious terms. His survival was described as 'miraculous' and the emphasis on his willingness to suffer for his people made him into a modern day Christ
• Many senior Communists believed that ordinary workers and peasants needed a very simple message that they could understand. Others thought they should use techniques similar to those used by the Orthodox Church and the Tsar to gain support, these included focus on a good, kind leader
• 1919, during the Civil War, even though resources were scarce, statues of Lenin were produced. His photograph also appeared with various titles, such as 'Leader of the Revolutionary Proletariat'. significantly, the cult now had a Socialist edge
• During 1919 and 1920, a new style of writing about Lenin emerged. Incrradoningly, he was depicted as being a humane man of the people, a man who refused luxury, a visionary and a man of great power. From 1919, he was often photographed wearing a cap which implied he was approachable and down to earth
• Lenin was uncomfortable with his cult but knew their importance and so allowed it to grow.
• the propaganda focus on Lenin gave the revolution and Communist Party a face, someone the people could identify with and support
• in the first years of the revolution, the government collaborated with avant-garde artists to produce posters promoting the revolution

  e.g. 1920 'A Spectre is Haunting Europe' showed a determined Lenin standing infront of a red banner, pointing to the west
• Lenin's initial press censorship regime continued throughout the Civil War.
• Civil War victory did not lead to increased press freedom. 1922 - Felix Dzerzhinksy, leader of the Soviet political police, introduced Glavlit, a new organisation which oversaw a more systematic censorship regime
• What did Glavlit introduce:

  • The GPU was put in charge of policing every publication available in the Soviet Union
  • New professional censors were employed
  • All books were investigated for anti-communist bias
  • the GPU compiled a list of banned books

  Soviet liveries were purged of politically dangerous books. New 'book gulags' were set up to house the books. Access was restricted to senior party members